(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping more than 370 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 21,060-point plateau although it's expected to find support on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key inflation data later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following losses from the plastics, gains from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology companies.
For the day, the index sank 80.36 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 21,064.08 after trading between 20,977.00 and 21,324.43.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial perked 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.64 percent, First Financial strengthened 1.30 percent, Fubon Financial gained 0.47 percent, E Sun Financial rose 0.18 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.56 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dropped 0.93 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.74 percent, Largan Precision tanked 2.96 percent, Catcher Technology retreated 1.66 percent, MediaTek rallied 2.26 percent, Delta Electronics jumped 1.79 percent, Novatek Microelectronics advanced 0.97 percent, Formosa Plastics stumbled 1.78 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 1.40 percent, Asia Cement increased 0.22 percent and CTBC Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and bounced back and forth across the line before finishing on opposite sides.
The Dow shed 92.63 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 40,736.96, while the NASDAQ jumped 141.28 points or 0.84 percent to close at 17,025.88 and the S&P 500 added 24.47 points or 0.45 percent to end at 5,495.52.
The volatility seen over the course of the trading day came as traders looked ahead to the release of closely watched consumer and producer price inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The data could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
The Fed is almost universally expected to begin lowering interest rates next week, but there is some debate about if the rate cut will be 25 basis points or 50.
Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday, ahead of the inflation data and on concerns over the health of the global economy. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery stumbled $2.43 or 3.54 percent to finish at $66.28 per barrel.
